


Tabitha

by Dongus57



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Boy friends, Boyfriends, Denial of Feelings, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Getting to Know Each Other, Implied Mpreg, Implied Relationships, Mpreg, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Smut, Tags May Change, may be smutty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-09-28 00:17:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20416736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dongus57/pseuds/Dongus57
Summary: It was a peaceful evening, one that Tom couldn't possibly change if he wanted to. He was relaxed, more than he could ever want. He didn't want or need anyone or thing in the world except to write and play his bass. But something comes up, something far more important. Will he regret it?





	1. Prologue

It was a quiet afternoon, the sun slowly making its descent to the horizon. The sky had begun shifting from blue to a darker shade of the same color as the sun glowed a deep orange. It was calm outside, birds chirping and their voices beginning to die down as a soft rumble filled the air, gray clouds rolling into the marvelous sky. 

The gentle  _ pitter-patter  _ of the starting rain hitting the leaves of the nearby bush set a relaxing atmosphere, causing a soft sigh to escape his lips. A male rested on a bay window, quite a few pillows underneath and around him while a blanket was spread across his lap. He leaned against the wall, his messy, sparkling amber hair squashed beneath the weight of his head and his blue hoodie hanging off of his shoulders as he shut his ebony eyes. A little grin scrunched the corners of his mid-brown skin as he relaxed.

Tom loved the rain. He loved how it ran down the windows after hitting the glass with a soft  _ pat _ , as if it were a drum being gently tapped with a stick. He loved how it set this gloomy undertone to everything it touched, yet had a warm feel to it. He loved that it seemed to hunt everything down that was left outside or lived beneath the sky. He loved it, he loved it, he loved it!

He hummed softly, as if making a song to the sound of the rain as it hit the roof, slowly getting harsher and causing it to become louder. Tom simply became more active and motivated by the rain as he listened to it, writing in a notebook that was on his lap. He wrote down various lyrics he could use, different sets of beats, and a couple of song names. He was relaxed and calm.

All the lights had been turned off except for one, a lamp set beside the bay window so that he could see what he was writing. They had been turned off to let the mood sink in better. The sun had barely sunk beneath the horizon before there was a loud, rapid knock that had Tom jumping out of his skin, dropping his pencil and knocking the notebook to the floor. His heart skipped a beat from the shock before he calmed down and grumbled grumpily under his breath, picking the notebook up and setting it on the cushiony flooring of the bay window.

The knock sounded again after Tom took a second too long to get to the door. “Alright, alright. I’m coming…” He walked over and flicked the porch light on before turning the knob and opening the door.

There stood a tall, lanky person, a hood over their hair and their arms curved around their chest as if carrying something. They wore a thick, black and white hoodie and large scarf that covered their face. Tom recognized the figure and sighed, letting his soaked friend in. They shook in their cold, wet clothing, which stuck to their skin uncomfortably. Yet they refused to move for a moment. They panted to try and catch their breath, desperate gasps.

“Did you really run all the way over here? You could’ve called a cab,” Tom said with a roll of his dark eyes. He frowned unhappily as he kept the other balanced. “What’s so important that you had to run, anyway?”

The figure was silent before they slowly uncovered this little bundle in their arms, all wrapped up and protected in a thin, pastel pink blanket. “This,” they whispered. 

“Did you kidnap a baby from the hospital?” Tom joked with a snicker, crossing his arms. 

“... That would’ve probably been in a better choice…” They sighed as they uncovered the face of a newborn. “This… this is my daughter. Her name is… Tabitha. I… I gave birth to her a couple of days ago…” They spoke in soft, unsure words, which were almost too quiet for Tom to hear since they were behind that thick scarf.

Tom was confused and a little speechless as he stared at the small child in the other’s arms. So many questions spun in his head as his expression dropped to a bewildered one. “You didn’t let yourself rest after giving birth? It’s too early for you to be running around like that! What about the hospital- did you go to the hospital to give birth at all? Why are you here? Seriously-“

“Tom!” Their stressed voice silenced Tom’s questions. They looked exhausted and on the verge of tears. “... I didn’t give a hospital birth. It was too much. I couldn’t let myself rest… he didn’t want a child. He said he wasn’t ready for a child… and, frankly, neither am I. I came here to…” They trailed off after studying Tom’s face for a moment. They took a moment before abruptly shoving Tabitha into Tom’s arms and dashing off back into the storm. Tom was able to stay steady as he watched after the figure, startled beyond belief.

It was a moment of his rapid heartbeat pounding in his ears before the shrieking cries of the baby in his arms brought his attention back to reality. He quickly closed the door and turned the porch light off before turning the living room lights on. A warm glow set in the room, but they didn’t silence Tabitha. She cried louder as the lights blinded her and Tom panicked, covering her face with the blanket gently. It quieted the child until she was peaceful against Tom once more.

He sighed in relief before going upstairs and setting Tabitha in the middle of his bed so that she didn’t fall off. He grabbed his phone and dialed up a number for the person before. One ring… two rings… three rings… no answer. He quickly gave up on that and dialed up someone else. 

On the first ring, someone picked up. “Hey, Tom! I thought you’d be busy at the moment. Is anything wr-“

“Matt, get over here. I just- now!”


	2. A Big Trip

The rain had only gotten harder as Tom had told Matt what had happened. The ginger had been so shocked by the baby and honestly looked nervous. Of course, Tom knew why and he didn’t want to put any pressure of any form on him. He simply needed advice and support right now. 

“... and that’s basically how my evening was ruined,” Tom grumbled, finishing his story. He tapped his foot nervously, crossing his arms and worried about what he could possibly do in this situation. Matt was quiet as he thought about it as well, looking to the baby on the bed with a glint in his eyes.

“Well, one thing’s for sure is that you can’t get rid of her,” the ginger mumbled.

“Why not?” Tom started. “I can’t take care of a baby! I could just give her back to-“

“You just can’t!” Tom was startled quiet by Matt’s exclamation. Tabitha shifted in the bed and started to cry. The ginger looked scared and everything, almost frantic really. But he looked sure of his words. “She clearly can’t take care of her and gave her away with good reason. Plus, I don’t want to give her to an orphanage. She’d just continue to go through everything with this awful feeling in her head… you have to adopt her.”

Tom had seen that intense look in Matt’s eye before. It was rare, but it was there with good reason he knew. He quickly went over to the baby and picked her up to calm her down from the ginger startling her. He knew a couple of things about how to take care of kids, but that didn’t necessarily mean he’d be a good influence or parent for the kid. He kept a hand under her head as he cradled Tabitha. He was very careful and gentle with Tabitha in his arms.

Tabitha was apparently tired because she fell right back asleep, nuzzled into his arms. Tom breathed out in relief, though now he realized that he was stuck in this until he could put her down. “Okay, look,” he started quietly, looking back to Matt as he rocked back and forth to keep the baby at bay. “I know that you’re pretty upset about this. I understand only because you told me. But I’ve never taken care of a kid before and you know this very well. How do you expect me to do anything about this?”

Matt was quiet for a moment before taking a minute to breathe and think. Then he looked at the other with a more focused gaze. “I’ll help you,” he offered. Tom instantly shook his head. 

“Matt, I know you’re trying to do the right thing, but I know you. If something goes wrong, you’re going to freeze and have a flashback. It’s happened around other children. I’ve seen it happen to you before too many times.” Tom didn’t want to cause any more trauma for the other than he had already been through, yet Matt seemed to deny any of it each and every time it happened. The brunette knew that it was only because the ginger loved kids. 

Matt huffed. “I can take care of a child! I just have to be careful. I’m helping you, whether you like it or not.” He was stubborn a lot of the time. That was the whole reason Tom had become friends with him; he hadn’t stopped bugging him and forced him into friendship. Yet Tom seemed to admire that about the ginger, his unwillingness to stop until he had reached his goal.

Tom sighed and took a moment before coming to a decision. “Fine. But if you have a flashback, you’re leaving. Got it?”

“Got it!” Matt instantly went back to his usual cheery self. “Alright, so you need a lot of things before you can officially try and take care of this child. First of all, you need rights to the child, but we’ll take care of that when we come to it. We need the baby stuff and then we can get her all comfortable in her new home, and I know you have a spare bedroom here. That’ll be her space.” Tom nodded following along. “Good. Now one of us needs to stay here while the other takes care of Tabitha.”

Tom nodded again. “Okay. You stay here with her.”

“Alright… wait, why?”

“Because you take forever to shop and she needs to eat soon is what I’m guessing. This needs to be a quick, easy trip, and with a newborn baby, that’s not gonna be very easy. So I’ll go to the store.” Matt huffed again, but he knew Tom had a point.

“Fine… but if you’re going to go, you better go now,” Matt suggested, gesturing to the door. Tom handed Tabitha over to the ginger carefully before looking to his freckled face. He could see the nervousness return to his eyes again, yet there was determination behind the glint as well.

“Take care of her okay?” He received a slow nod. Tom sighed and placed a hand to his shoulder. “You got this. Be patient with her and yourself and everything should be alright. You got this, okay?” He received another nod, a stronger one, and even a small smile that had him smiling too. “Good. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Tom ran off upstairs to grab his wallet and put his shoes on before heading back down to exit the house and to the store.


	3. Long Night

“Alright, I can do this,” Matt mumbled to himself a minute after Tom had left, letting a breath slip out as he kept Tabitha in a firm, gentle hold. He hadn’t gotten to see her face yet, afraid that if he removed the blanket from her face, she’d wake up and cause havoc before Tom had the chance to get anything. Plus, the ginger didn’t want to see her face just yet, afraid of becoming attached.

He swallowed as he rocked back and forth on his feet, humming gently. He was stuck in one spot, too scared to move in case the girl was sensitive to movement, which was ridiculous since Tom had passed her over just fine. Matt was overthinking again, wondering why he had offered to help the other. Sure, Tom was his bestest friend, but he was still traumatized by his own past… though he knew he owed Tom a lot. He had helped him so much, even if they had only known each other for a year. 

Matt sighed and tried to calm his racing heart. He only wanted to keep Tabitha from crying until Tom came back, which would hopefully be sooner rather than later. He knew, however, that this would take much longer than an hour since they had no prep. Tom might not even have enough money! Now the ginger was worried about that too. 

_ ‘Calm down, Matt, calm down. Everything will be just fine,’ _ he told himself, take calming breaths and letting them go.  _ ‘Now go and rest- carefully- with the child.’ _ Matt walked over to the bed slowly with Tabitha and sat down as carefully as his body would allow, leaning against the headboard tensely. He switched arms for the baby to sleep on and covered them up. He felt Tabitha snuggle closer for more warmth. He let out a sigh and, after a few more minutes, relaxed into the pillows.   
  


*******   
  


Tom was back after a few hours, everything they needed in the care. He let an exhausted sigh slip before beginning to unload his car. Thankfully, it wasn’t pouring anymore, but it was still raining nonetheless. How Tom wished he had spent the night doing what he had wanted to do instead of going shopping in Malmart until about two in the morning.

His hood up, he grabbed as many bags as he could and quickly went into the house as fast as he possibly could. Once inside, he heard the screams of a hungry, probably diaper-change-needing, baby. His heart raced with fear as he raced to his bedroom, worry in his black eyes. He hoped she hadn’t been dropped.

Once in his room, Tom found her clinging to Matt and wailing over his shoulder. The ginger rocked back and forth, rubbed her back and patted her gently, but nothing seemed to work. Her face was even covered by the blanket.

“What happened?” Tom asked as he walked over to them quickly. Matt sighed, looking rather tired and doing his best not to breakdown. Babies need patience, one lesson he had learned long ago. “Is she hurt-“

“Tom, I didn’t hurt her,” Matt interrupted impatiently. “Tabitha needs a bottle and a new diaper. Go get them.” He was almost aggressive in the way he said it, a hidden growl. Tom had never seen that before. Once again, he went silent… and for once, he did as he was told. He ran off to grab a big box of diapers, wipes, formula cans, and bottles. He was back quickly and waited for further instruction. “Good. Now, hand me a diaper and make a bottle.”

“I don’t know-“

“Three ounces of water and one scoop of formula,” Matt answered matter-of-factly. Tom nodded and gave him a diaper before racing off again to make the bottle.

Matt sighed and lay the crying baby down on the sheets gently. He expertly changed her diaper, biting his tongue to try and focus on the task instead of the shrieks that he couldn’t bear. The dirty diaper was pushed to the side for the moment while the ginger wrapped her up into a bundle again. They’d worry about clothes later on.

Tom was back after another long minute, handing Matt the bottle. He thanked the other and handed him the dirty diaper to throw away, Tom giving him a scowl before doing it. The ginger picked Tabitha up once more, hand under her head to give it support since her neck couldn’t. She rested her head in the crook of his arm, still a scrunched up ball of tense energy.

Matt popped the nipple of the bottle into her mouth carefully and she was silenced, relaxing into him once more, drinking from it. Tabitha wouldn’t need much for the first few months, still so small and her stomach barely anything but the size of her tiny, rage-induced fist. He sighed, relaxing and beginning to calm down. 

Tom came back and was about to say something before Matt interrupted him. “We’ll need a burp cloth in a minute here.” The other paled and the ginger sighed. “Just get a towel instead then.” Tom sighed this time, grumbling as he went to go get the towel.

Matt couldn’t help but chuckle softly at his attitude. He knew Tom was probably tired, being that it was late at night. But they needed to take care of this. As soon as Tom was back with a medium-sized towel, the ginger handed him Tabitha back. “Alright. You take care of her. I’ll get the bassinet- that you better have bought- set up.”

Tom kept a hand on the back of her soft head and nodded. “The bassinet is still in the car. You’ll have to hurry and get it. I think it’s going to start pouring again soon,” he warned the other. Matt sighed and hurried off, getting his shoes back on and everything before getting outside. The rain was starting to grow heavy once more, grating on Matt’s nerves in an awful fashion.

Thankfully, the ginger was fast on getting to and from the car, holding the box that held the bassinet parts. He quickly got back inside, breath a little heavy, and started opening the wet box to get to the parts. He set it up as quickly as he could with the instructions, which turned out to take a lot longer than he expected. It was almost four AM now. Matt was so exhausted, but he pushed the bassinet to the guest room, next to the side of the bed. Then he rounded the bed, pausing for a moment. 

Tom lay there, out cold, with Tabitha in his arms and the towel with spit up on his shoulder. She was asleep as well, snuggled into the man’s chest, blanket over her face still. Matt couldn’t help but chuckle before carefully taking Tabitha from Tom’s arms and placing her in the bassinet. He yawned as he covered her body with a thicker blanket. Then he took the towel and got hung it over the edge of the bassinet.

Soon he was laying down on the bed beside Tom, unable to keep his eyes open any longer. He had completely forgotten to cover himself and Tom with the blanket that lay underneath them or even take their shoes off. 

This parenting stuff was already exhausting and it hadn’t even been a day yet.


End file.
